January 13, 2006
Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Middletown, Ohio, USA:
My son asked me to help him find a book to help him calculate what he can eat. He is 6 feet, 4 inches, 210 pounds, not overweight. There are a lot of books for people who are overweight. There are also books for people with type 2 available but the food amounts are not enough for him even though he is no longer starving like when he was first diagnosed with blood sugar over 500 mg/dl [27.8 mmol/L]. He is in good shape except for his newly diagnosed type 1.
The dietitian he saw worked for the insulin pump company and really seemed more interested in steering people in that direction. He is in a diabetes study using the flex pens that are working very well to control his blood sugar at this time. He wants to follow a good eating plan but is having difficulty finding something that seems to fit his life style. He is very athletic, working full time, taking classes for his Master’s Degree, and involved in theater, which is very physical also. He also was just married in September.
Answer:
I would recommend that your son schedule an appointment with a registered dietitian who specializes in diabetes meal planning. Your health care provider should be able to refer you to someone. Nowadays, and especially in your son’s case with all of his activity, meal planning requires individualization in order to be effective. It sounds as if your son is doing very well and with proper meal planning, his diabetes will be well controlled also.
JMS
